My Hope

We’ve been focusing on Ephesians 6 with the girls and I’ve been really thinking about what it means to be an ambassador of Christ. I know ambassadors at the international level, but I have experience as an ambassador for Florida State University. I loved it! I gave tours to prospective students and their families and attempted to persuade them to attend. We shared the highlights of many of the colleges and put positive spins on things like community bathrooms. I couldn’t always speak from experience- my dorms residence halls were recently renovated and had suite style rooms and my single major was special education. I could memorize the information about some of the other things though and point them in the right direction if they had specifics. If they requested it far enough in advance or there was last minute availability, we were always happy to make arrangements with advisors from the departments they were interested in and encouraged people to tour both styles of dorms...

I’ve heard that Atlanta is the new Hollywood, but until now I’ve been living in my international/mom bubble. Recently though the two merged. An episode of 24 was filmed next door to some GFM property, so the girls and I took a field trip to check everything out. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t a whole lot to see. There were a couple of huge semi’s full of equipment blocking our apartment complex and some lighting rigs, but all the action was inside a house in the neighborhood. We could tell there was stuff happening, but I honestly have no idea what the episode will entail. We won’t know right away either. The show will air sometime in February… for now it’s undergoing the editing process. Two days of filming and four months of editing seems like a lot of work for a one hour show (45 minutes once you factor in commercials). Do we allow God to work on us from the inside, editing (or pruning) us? At times it can be difficult. We’ve put work in, only to have it trimmed...

One thing that stood out to me in our book was the idea that we often compare the church to a hospital. I’ve often heard the quote attributed to Abigal Van Buren “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” But I loved what McNabb said about it, “The church is supposed to build laborers, not hospitals. It is true that armies build hospitals and care for their people, but that’s not the principle around which they organize.” Yes, people come to church broken and in need... but it isn't the purpose of church. We sometimes forget what we are meant to do. We're commanded to multiply. To reach all peoples and all nations. To glorify God. I agree with Dear Abby, the church should not be a museum for saints- we are all sinners. But it also needs to be a place of training and sending forth. A place to prepare laborers to go out into the fields. In Matthew 9 we clearly see that Jesus does both and if you continue into chapter 10 we see the disciple follo...

It seems like at every turn lately, my plans have been backfiring. The doctor that I thought would be doing the surgery didn’t and the doctor who was my last choice ended up being the one to deliver V. We thought both grandmothers would be here the first week to ease the older girls into life with a newborn. The only glitch… both girls came down with stomach bugs and so the grandmas whisked them away to Florida so as not to infect the rest of us. M’s birthday just passed and I thought I may be able to pull off a celebration with just family and maybe a fun outing instead of a big party but as the day approached it quickly became clear that her heart was set on a celebration surrounded by friends. The list goes on with lots of unscheduled bumps and hiccups, but you get the picture. My concern about the doctor ended up being unfounded and the surgery went well. The girls ended up having a great time and don’t seem a bit fazed that they missed V’s first week of life (M d...

Where are you in your relationship with Christ this Resurrection Sunday? Are you dining at the Passover supper with Jesus- blissfully unaware of what you’ll soon be called to do? Do you know that something is coming, but you’re focused more on who is sitting where? Are you looking for someone to overturn the oppressive government or do you search for a servant king? Maybe you’re in the garden, fighting to stay awake. You know what you’ve been told to do and yet you struggle to obey. Maybe you’ve seen the innocent mistreated and you react in anger and violence rather than allowing God to bring justice. Perhaps you’ve just experienced the death of your Rabbi, teacher and friend. You don’t know what to do and so you hide from this world and wait until things are clearer. You protect yourself by denying your relationship. Maybe you’ve seen the risen Messiah. You have touched his hands and feet. Now he is telling you that you will suffer the same. Will you accept the ...

Easter is coming up soon and I’m excited to see what this reminder of Christ’s resurrection will bring. I know that Christ lives within me the entire year through, but I feel this time of year is an amazing time of both reflection and renewal of my faith. Perhaps it’s because I was baptized on Maundy Thursday fifteen years ago, but I think it’s more than that. We are reminded during this time that death has no grip on us- that Christ has overcome the grave- and Satan has been defeated. I don’t think this is lost on Satan either, so it’s a time we must be prepared to fight the spiritual battles of this world. I gained a different perspective on Easter eight years ago. I’ve always tried to picture it through Jesus’ vantage point but came to realize how it must have pained God to give up his firstborn son as well. He knew it was coming and he knew the grave could not hold him, and yet death would not Passover His begotten Son as it had the Israelites so many years before. I pos...

I loved our time back home this Christmas. Most of it was spent with family but we were able to see a few friends too. It was refreshing and relaxing to be surrounded by friends and family who know us so well (and love us anyway). We knew we’d be hitting the ground running once we got back so we found joy in just going with the flow while we had the chance. At least we thought we’d be hitting the ground running. Instead Tommy ended up with strep shortly after we got back, so we quarantined him to the couch and steered clear of people in case the girls and I were contagious and our symptoms just hadn’t shown up yet. (Thankfully we escaped it!!!) I did find out I’m anemic though (which explains why my energy level never bounced back at all second trimester). Hopefully the extra iron will kick in soon and my biggest craving (naps) will disappear. The illness and exhaustion has left us going from a state of being surrounded by love to a relative place of isolation. Coupled w...

It’s been wonderful seeing family and friends. I feel like the time is passing too quickly though and I haven’t had a chance to see as many people as I’d hoped. I feel like we’re close and yet so far away up in Clarkston. Always know you’re welcome anytime you’re up in Atlanta to come on over and see us- we’d love to have you and show you everything going on!! We’d taken two cars to church and the girls got back slightly earlier than the boys. After unstrapping H and letting both out of the car, M started to dash for the garage door. As she started I could see my father-in-law driving down the road and about to pull into the driveway. I called out a quick ‘whoa’ to M and she immediately stopped. I smiled at her (happy that she’d obeyed the first time) and explained I hadn’t wanted her to get squished by Poppy’s truck (which is my usual speech in parking lots or near roads). Her reaction wasn’t usual though- she burst into tears and came running to me for hugs. Unlike previ...

Part 3 A call to Acts It’s easy to fear those that are different than us, but we are told that perfect love drives out fear. How then should we react? How did the early church react when they were persecuted from all sides? Did God call for the annihilation of those that martyred Stephen. No. He welcomed at least one of them into His church and changed his name to Paul. I don’t blame the apostles for being skeptical (Acts 9:26). I have no doubts that they wanted to make sure this was the real deal, that he wasn’t trying to sneak his way into the inner circle in order to gain insight and bring greater destruction. We have the advantage, we’ve gotten to fast forward to the end and see how God used Paul throughout his life. The early disciples just had to trust in the changes they saw (I’m sure it also helped that God gave a vision to Ananias). Paul went from persecuting to being persecuted. He did not seek suffering, but he did not run from it either; nor did he return vi...

So I’m pretty much over the nausea, gagging and vomiting. Most people would be thrilled. But oddly enough, I miss it. This is my least favorite time of pregnancy. I’m always ready for the morning sickness to go away, but then when it does, I long for it. You see, it’s too early to feel consistent movement. Every now and then, if I’m super still I may feel a flutter… but not always. So I’m stuck in this land of limbo where there isn’t much sign at all that I’m pregnant (besides what my scale and clothes tell me). I can’t wait for the day that the kicks are so strong that even the girls will be able to feel them. I know that will be weeks from now though. Sometimes we get discouraged when our faith is like that. When times are tough, it brings us to our knees. Often when times are hardest it is when we feel closest to God. We can feel God’s comfort when we’re in the midst of suffering and see His love shown through the body of believers reaching out and lifting us up. Wh...

We grew up in an innocence/guilt society but we’re now living and working around people who primarily grew up in honor/shame societies. There is no right or wrong, all three structures are addressed in the Bible, but it takes some adjusting. I’ve had some social and cultural blunders in our short time here. First and foremost, what’s the difference? What motivates you to do what is right? Do you get a ‘guilty conscience’ if you’re breaking the rules? Tommy always laughs at me for seeing the world in black and white- it’s right or it’s wrong, there isn’t much grey. I’m a work in progress- what can I say. I’m a rule follower and feel guilty if I break a rule- even if no one else knows (or cares for that matter). Our justice system centers around the idea that people are innocent until proven guilty. American churches focus the gospel message on the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood- bringing innocence and washing us white as snow (which in itself is humorous as this w...

It’s easy to forget that not everyone has the same perspectives. Different things take on a different meaning when viewed from different cultures. Last week a family we’ve been getting to know came knocking on our door asking for a ride to the grocery store. The rain was just starting and it appeared to be getting harder. Not the type of weather I generally want to go grocery shopping in but I couldn’t tell them no. The whole family came along. On the way the wife kept telling me how much she loved the rain. I started thinking about it from her perspective. She comes from a dry desert climate. Rain is not an inconvenience, something to grumble about. It is something to be cherished, savored. There’s a little boy in the apartment complex who literally lies in a puddle that forms in the parking lot. Free water falling from the sky is such a blessing, just ask anyone in California. We’ve just grown so accustomed to it, we forget to see it for what it really is. The Word ...